Cholavaram, also spelled Sholavaram, is a suburb north of

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It is popular as Sholavaram and is also known for the

Cholavaram lake Sholavaram aeri, or Sholavaram lake, is located in Ponneri taluk of Thiruvallur district, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the rain-fed reservoirs from where water is drawn for supply Chennai city from this lake to Puzhal lake through canals. ...

. Adjoining the lake, there was an defunct Air Force Airfield which was used as a

motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

track. It was an air strip used during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

; After the Madras Motor Sports Club was formed in mid-50s, it selected Sholavaram to conduct its racing events. Since then racing events took place every year and continued till late 1980s until the

Madras Motor Sports Club Madras Motor Sports Club is an Indian auto racing club founded in 1952 and based in Chennai, India. Madras Motor Sports Club with its history of over 50 years is the reason that Chennai can be called the epicentre of motor racing in India. Mad ...

built a new track at

Irungattukottai Irungattukottai is a fast emerging neighbourhood of Chennai, strategically on the Chennai-Bangalore Highway (NH4). It is approximately 34 km from downtown Chennai. Irungatttukottai is part of the Kancheepuram District. It is Western part o ...

Sriperumbudur Sriperumbudur is a town panchayat in the Kanchipuram district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located 40 kilometers southwest of the capital city of Chennai on the National Highway 4 (India)(old numbering), National Highway 4 and i ...

. The famous Malayalam actor

Jayan Krishnan Nair (25 July 1939 – 16 November 1980), better known by his stage name Jayan, was an Indian actor, naval officer, stunt performer and cultural icon of the 1970s and 1980s. He starred in over 150 Malayalam films. During his film caree ...

was killed in a helicopter accident here during the shooting of his film

Kolilakkam ''Kolilakkam'' () is a 1981 Malayalam-language action thriller film, written and directed by P. N. Sundaram, and starring Jayan. The film was a box office hit. The movie was a remake of the 1965 Hindi film '' Waqt''. Premise Three brothers, ...

on 16 November 1980.

References

External links

History of Sholavaram Racing StripOrigins of Sholavaram
{{Indian motorsports Sport in Chennai Motorcycle racing Motorsport venues in India Tourist attractions in Chennai Neighbourhoods in Chennai

See also

References

External links